retired_justin05

h and I'd go for 3 in the meantime. Get the debts down. Go for the one with the highest interest rate but this has to be balanced against the future cost of that credit card. If it was me I'd aim for the one with the highest debt but ensure I could shft the debts from the credit card come Aug 06.

retired_nauticaperson

I'd be tempted to say "damn it all!" and sort it when I got back (or indeed Option 4 :thup: ) but long term it's more damaging, so I'd suck it up, take the pain, pay it all off asap.

retired_meljustchey

Half way?

so the loans were 15K and 7K respectively, or not?

irrespective of the answer, get a job!

I've got to say we're in quite similar situations.

I'm: - 6 months into a £9500 loan paying £300 back every month.
- 2.5 years into a 5 year £3000 loan.
- Owe my aunt £4470.
- Owe £3500 to AMEX, which I'm paying 14.9% interest on


Used to have 4 credit cards maxed out. ~ 11 grand. Got a job in June. Have already cleared 3K off myself, plus got a loan off my aunt(see above) so I'm paying reasonable levels of interest on most of my debt.

Never even thought of going on holiday, the debts were bothering me so much. Judging by the look of your finances, you've had quite a few holidays ,so I say start clearing them off. If you're frugal you'll be done in 2 years. Then head off to either prague, istanbul or warsaw :madaboutwomen:

trotamundos

I've been AWESOME at money this year GK. Oddly enough it coincides with the break-up......

Haven't touched a credit card since January, and I have had that £3500 in the bank since being made redundant at the start of the year.

Just a shame I got myself into so much sh*t in the first place :o

retired_meljustchey

Oh and DO NOT use all of the £3500 to pay off the credit card debt until you have a job.

trotamundos

Indeedy

retired_sherrijacobson

Get a job, use your free cash to clear you Halifax loan, save the cash that you would save from your monthly payments and put into a high inetrest savings account, and store

retired_brawson33

Is that bank £1800 overdraft interest free? If it is then I'd go option 3 and wipe out the £3500 loan like Scoot said. Get hunting like crazy for a job, even if it is just some sh*tty temporary position to get you some income (you can use the bank overdraft as a little safety net whilst finding a job but don't eat in to it too much), then start chipping away at your interest free credit card debt at more than £100 a month to reduce the amount of interest you will be paying when the interest free bit goes. I'd alos contemplate being a card tart and moving to another interest credit car with that debt whilst you are chipping away it. Plus as Cranks said, sack off the abroad idea until 2008 when you are debt free as otherwise you will be miles up sh*t creek when you get back and you don't need that.

Keep your head up mate, think positive, you can do it.

retired_kris10nicole

First thing first. Forget going abroad. You have to accept the reality that financially you are simply not in a position to do that.

Secondly, I take it you have no income at the moment? Given that, get a job. Anything, anywhere. If it has to be part time to fit your course, fair enough, but you need to start bringing some money in now. If you hate it, doesn't matter, you can look for something else while you're working, but you need to get on top of this now.

Next, i'm not so sure about this one, but personally i wouldn't use the savings until you have a job. As soon as you do, use as it all to pay off whichever of the debts has the biggest APR.

Finally, are you efficient and strict with yourself? If you can trust yourself, get another 1 or more 0% cards. The danger with them is if you're going to forget when the free period runs out, and end up paying whopping interest rates at the end of the free period. If you can trust yourself, transfer as much of the remaining onto this card(s) as you can. In addition, have some level of remaining credit on a 0% card that is 0% for purchases as well as balance transfers, and use this as your emergency fund instead of your savings.

And at the end of all that, don't be tempted to think that you're sorted. Stick to your "spending nothing" plan until you've reduced it to a manageable level.

A couple of useful websites

money saving expert

motley fool

They both have forums where you might get some good advice.

retired_brawson33

Oh yeah, and cut the credit cards up NOW, so you can't put more money on them. Then cancel them when they are cleared.

Whatever you do, don't go for a consolidating loan unless an absolute last resort, more trouble than they are worth imo.